


Terms and Coniditions Apply: Meta

by missingnolovefic



Series: Terms and Conditions Apply [5]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Author Commentary, Fic Meta, Immortal Fake AH Crew, Nonfiction, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Supernatural Fake AH Crew, Werewolf!Jeremy, phoenix!Lindsay, vampire!Ryan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-09-16 16:03:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16957119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missingnolovefic/pseuds/missingnolovefic
Summary: Archiving my meta tag from tumblr for future reference. This is meta about the stories in this series.Will add more meta in the future.





	1. Phoenix Lindsay

**Insight into phoenix!Lindsay**

[from chatting with Kayssna about the story]

> and Lindsay just forgets to tell them she’s immortal like, she meets other immortals and is like “lol let’s see if geoff remembers me… huh he doesn’t how fun let’s see how long it takes him… they’re all immortal they know the others are immortal they must recognize immortality by now… whoops I died let’s go back to check on the idiots! 

 

 


	2. Werepuppy!Jeremy in BotB

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> meta about Jeremy's animalistic behaviour in Beauty of the Beast

In [Beauty of the Beast](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Farchiveofourown.org%2Fworks%2F7324222&t=NGUyMThmYzM3MDQ4N2M1NzJlYWI4OTFmZDhkODk0ODNhOGFhODhmMCxGblpEemRZeg%3D%3D&b=t%3AorySJknKKsCZft_aN4F_3w&p=http%3A%2F%2Fmiss-ingno.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F150696683682%2Flate-to-the-party-selfloveday&m=0) (my immortal fahc, werewolf!Jeremy au) I stuffed Jeremy and Lindsay’s first meeting full with little details I was hoping were subtle enough so not everyone would catch them but still influence the mood.

AND I’M DAMN PROUD OF IT, so I’ll point some of them out below.

The scene starts off with little hints that while Jeremy loves his parents ( _He should leave, but his inner wolf bristles at the mere suggestion of leaving his mom vulnerable_ ), they’re by far no happy family ( _The way the stink of fear clings to their clothes the days leading up to the full moon._ and _“Mom,” Jeremy says, and she flinches_ ).

Jeremy never learned to control or understand his wolfish aspects, and I tried showing that in several places: _Rationally, he knows it’s for the best. But a part of him can’t help it, he resents their caution._ He tries to be a good son, helping out at the shop, obeying his mother (to get the red box) but at the same time his wolf is the packleader since neither of his parents react in a way the wolf would understand.

This is the crux of the conflict between Jeremy and his parents, because his wolf reacts to their fear by being aggressive-protective which in turn scares them: _and her eyes are wild. A grumble fights its way out of his chest, and she flinches again._  

The entire time I keep reminding the reader of the domesticity of the situation ( _Her skirts and apron are white with flour, as is the tip of her braid_ ) and then contrasting it with Jeremy’s mother’s fear of her werewolf son ( _“Be a dear and get the red box,” she says, her voice shaking. There’s a smudge of dough on her cheek and her eyes are wild._ ) to give it that clear “something’s off” feel.

Enter Lindsay.

Lindsay acts as the perfect counterpart to Jeremy’s mother. She knows immediately what Jeremy is, understands how he acts and, maybe most importantly, knows how to react. How to handle the wolfish instincts.

This was really hard to write, since I was writing Jeremy’s PoV, who as an untrained werewolf was mostly oblivious to his instinctive reactions. I threw in little hints of dog training and behaviorial language as I know it. (I realize that wolf behavior is very different, but I’m handwaving that bc this is werewolves mix with human behavior, and I just went with what I already knew.) Couple examples:

  * _Carefully he circles around, giving the grunts a wide berth._ \- This is really subtle, especially since I gave the ‘logical’ reason for why he does that. Jeremy explains it to himself by “not going near the mob enforcers”, but what he’s actually doing is approaching Lindsay in a respectful way - by circling around instead of approaching directly.
  * _keeping her sharp eyes fixed on Jeremy. He can feel his hackles rise in response_. - This is a lot clearer - keeping eye contact is a challenge and Jeremy reacts accordingly. He did the same thing earlier, though he gave himself an excuse ( _if he intimidates new enforcers enough they might back off their demands a little_ )
  * _The woman merely stares at him, a good three feet between them.Jeremy licks his lips nervously_. - the first sign that Jeremy is giving in. Bear with me, I realize that dominance-submision theory is rather overinterpreted, but it’s definitely a gesture of the “I don’t like this situation can we please move onto something more pleasant” kind. Which can be interpreted as submissive/giving in, sooo.
  * _He glances at her in askance, eyes lingering on the outstretched hand, then flickering to the gunmen behind her_. - Super subtle again, and one of my proudest ones. His human brain finds human logic in his actions, which is plainly stated - what’s happening on the werewolf level is that he’s _looking away_. He’s no longer challenging Lindsay.
  * _He whines lightly and leans back, exposing his throat._   - overused to the point of cliché but I wanted to let everyone who didn’t realize what was going on catch up. This is the point of no return.



And also the point where something else happens that I’m pretty proud of: within these last couple paragraphs Lindsay’s epithet changes from _The Woman_ to _The Lady_ , at the same time Jeremy’s mother goes from _Mom_ to _Mother_.

There’s more, but this is getting long anyway, and I think I hit all the highlights. I’m always hoping for a commenter to stumble across any of these or similar ones in my stories, and it makes me super happy when someone does comment on it, even if they can’t put their finger on it.

Like one commenter on [The Chase](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Farchiveofourown.org%2Fworks%2F7917118&t=MTdlY2JjYzFkMDBmNDA2NDZjMDBmYTMyMGJlOWE5M2RkODFmYTJlMCxGblpEemRZeg%3D%3D&b=t%3AorySJknKKsCZft_aN4F_3w&p=http%3A%2F%2Fmiss-ingno.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F150696683682%2Flate-to-the-party-selfloveday&m=0) not realizing what was up until the break-point where I made it obvious, and then finding out on the re-read that with the foreknowledge of whats-going-on it reads completely different.

(Honestly any and all comments are amazing and definitely appreciated. Especially re: anxiety about my writing)


	3. Bitesized Meta

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meta about Yves Beaufort (the vampire OC), vampires in Terms'verse in general, vampire-werewolf relations, and the relationship between Jeremy and Ryan in particular.

> **Anonymous asked: So in your fic Bitesized (which I love so so much btw), you have that dick vampire talking about running tests on werepuppy/ using his blood, and I was wondering if this was a plot you were thinking of following up on at all? If theres one thing I love more than werepuppy Jeremy, its h/c with a side of protective Ryan. I love all your work btw, I must have re-read them all about 20 times at this point :D**

 

Ahhh, thank you! I’m really glad you’re enjoying my works, especially enough to reread <3

I’m gonna break this down in multiple answers because you accidentally hit on something I really really wanna talk about, but the **TL;DR** is: specifically this plot? probably not, h/c in general? maybe, protective!Ryan? absolutely

 

  * The Dick Vampire and What He Represents:



So, they encounter Yves Beaufort (random name I came up with, because it sounded French-nobility enough) in the second to last scene of the story for very specific reasons. This vampire represents vampire culture at large and is supposed to give the reader some insight of a) where Ryan comes from and b) how vampire culture and prejudice works.

I need you to realize: if he had approached Ryan in the beginning of the story, _Ryan would have likely said yes_. Not without amends or conditions, and definitely not with Jeremy as a subject, because while they haven’t yet interacted much, Jeremy was part of the crew. Knowing Jeremy would drive Ryan to insist on more “humane”, “ethical” testing, feeling lowkey uncomfortable since he has Jeremy to compare to the random werewolf test subject.

A Ryan before meeting Jeremy would have had no such scruples. He is a researcher, an academic and immoral enough in that pesky human laws are of no interest to him. Werewolves are simple beasts that have not been studied extensively, and the scientist in Ryan would have been excited at the prospect: _This_ is why Beaufort approaches him. _That_ is the reaction he expects.

The entire story is about Ryan being confronted with evidence that runs counter to his internalized prejudices and learning. In getting to know Jeremy, in caring for him and bonding with him, Ryan realizes some uncomfortable truths and habits that are hard to shake. E.g. even after everything that happens beforehand, he still expects Jeremy to attack him in the werewolf encounter.

It’s a story about growth: Ryan’s personal one and the relationship between Ryan and Jeremy.

 

  * The Werewolf Blood Myth:



That said, unless Beaufort manages to win another older vampire over to sponsor his research, he’s pretty much doomed to fail: he was betting on Ryan (an older vampire and well-recognized academic in the vampiric community) to support him. Now Ryan however promised to do his damnedest to make sure the Court dismisses his request, so Beaufort has double the work of convincing to do. Even a sponsor equal to Ryan in status would not work any longer.

I hadn’t really decided whether I want the Werewolf Blood to have special effects on vampires, but I’m leaning towards not. The increase in strength and regeneration would be minimal and temporary at best, or else it would have been noticed before during the Vampire-Werewolf Wars.

The only advantage a werewolf victim has over a human one is that they regenerate blood quicker and can survive being drained of larger doses; since it is usually the vampire’s goal to kill the werewolf this would not be seen as a good thing.

Ryan will probably investigate some with Jeremy in voluntary experiments since he _is_ a curious creature and Jeremy likes being helpful (and also knowing more about werewolves, so until Lindsay returns, they’ll try to figure things out together). And he’ll publish some of his conclusions in time, causing a massive upheaval among the scientific vampires that might lead to more research.

Considering the prejudice against werewolves, it’s more likely they’ll brush Ryan off as crazy though.

 

  * This Specific Scenario in Terms’verse:



-is thus unlikely to occur. If Beaufort and his companions keep following through with the scheme without approval, the Fakes are a strong crew of various supernatural beings that would be able to get Jeremy out on their own. Jeremy is not helpless, either. He’s been training with Michael and Gavin in letting the wolf out for attacks, and his new bond with Ryan will help him make progress in that, too.

I headcanon that they go on a lot of jobs together, and Ryan would even accompany him to change on the full moon, so it would be hard to nap him. It’d be easier and less troublesome for Beaufort to grab another, random werewolf, especially since he is a weaker and younger vampire who really doesn’t want to piss off Ryan more than he has.

That said, I hadn’t really considered following this plot. I might, if it keeps coming up and there’s reader interest in it, but: see below.

 

  * Future Stories In Terms’verse:



I’m writing this entire story achronologically and whatever I feel like adding next, I’m mostly gonna focus on more origins next. It’s a fun sandbox to play in and I don’t actually have much of an overarching plot.

My main goal in writing this series is setup and worldbuilding, and learning to do so in more story-heavy fics rather than, say, a worldbuilding meta posts. It’s been something I’ve been working on, and I’m especially happy with Bitesized in this regard, because it feels more like a story than actual worldbuilding - it was originally supposed to be Ryan’s origin story with a pinch of Jeremy h/c, and I think it still is that at heart, I just managed to disguise it well.

Also I feel like my relationship building got better since I started writing this verse, so there’s that.

I’m expecting more light-fun stories (Mica’s origin) and other angst/plot-heavy stories (Ray’s origin) and everything in between, especially since I keep jumping around in the timeline. I have so many ideas - some less well-thought out than others - and not enough time to get to all of them.

It really depends on where my muse takes me, though :D

 

  * Ryan being protective of Werepuppy!Jeremy:



If this specific kind of dynamic is something you’re looking for, the basic plot of [Misfits](https://archiveofourown.org/series/541201) will appeal to you.

Other than Terms, Misfits is actually based on a plot, just split into multiple stories in a series because I didn’t think I’d ever start writing the fic otherwise. While the two fics currently up focus on the setup of the Mavinwood, once Jeremy enters the picture it’ll be all about werepuppy Jeremy h/c and protective Lads + Ryan.

So maybe keep an eye out for that?


End file.
